Return postage cost from ebay seller

[piggy456]

A professional car part seller on ebay advertised an item for sale on a buy it now.

The Seller advertised an ignition coil that fits on '07 reg bmw model e93 ( 3 series convertible ) engine size 330i. Which is the model that I have. They have verified that on their system with my car reg number.

The item when I received did not fit my car. When I told the seller that they were happy to refund the product but I would have to pay the return postage cost as I had purchased the wrong item!

My issue is that the item is advertised to fit my car! If it doesn't fit the car as advertised then why should I be responsible for the return postage ? Please note the item they claim I should have bought is also advertised for the exactly the same model as my car !

So they have two items that are supposedly suitable for my car! They have also said I can return to one of their stores, but if it was easy for me to get to one of their stores , I would not have bought it online!

Ebay have since replied to me and said it need to send the item back to the seller at my own cost for a refund.

Please advise .... many thanks in advance.

 

[ALewis]

As misrepresentation has occurred, They must either: a) arrange collection of the part, b) pay for the return postage or c) refund the cost of return postage when they receive it back from you.

Further on the Misrepresentation Act 1967:

A misrepresentation is a statement of fact (not opinion) which is made by the seller before the contract is made.
If you relied on that statement when deciding whether or not to go ahead with your purchase, and this then turns out to be wrong, you can claim compensation.

There are three types of misrepresentation and your path to redress will depend upon the following:
whether the false statement was made fraudulently
whether the false statement was made negligently
whether the false statement was made innocently

Fraudulent misrepresentation
A fraudulent misrepresentation is a statement of fact made without belief in its truth either recklessly, knowingly or without caring whether it is true or false, with the intention that it should be acted on and, is in fact acted on.
If you enter into a contract as a result of a fraudulent misrepresentation, then you can cancel the contract, claim damages, or both.
The Misrepresentation Act 1967 allows you to base your claim on negligence or on the fraud.
In addition, when a misrepresentation claim is based on negligence, the law states that the person who made the misrepresentation has to disprove the negligence.
In other words, they must prove that they had reasonable grounds to believe the statement, and that they believed the facts represented were true.

Negligent misrepresentation
This is a misrepresentation under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 where a statement is made carelessly or without reasonable grounds for believing its truth.
A negligent misrepresentation may fall under common law or under the Misrepresentation Act 1967. Financial loss may be recovered in some circumstances.

Innocent misrepresentation
This is where one of the parties, when entering into a contract, had reasonable grounds for believing that his or her false statement was true.
In other words, it is made entirely without fault. This type of misrepresentation primarily allows for the contract to be cancelled.
The purpose of this is to place you and the other party in the same position before the contract had taken place.
However, under Section 2(2) Misrepresentation Act 1967 the court has discretion to award damages instead of allowing you to end the contract if it deems it appropriate. It cannot award both.
This would be judged on both the nature of the innocent misrepresentation and the losses suffered by the victim of the misrepresentation.

Once it has been established that there as been a misrepresentation and what type it is, then the remedies available can be determined.

There are two types of remedy:
Damages - compensation designed to compensate the victim of a misrepresentation for the harm done insofar as money can do this
Rescission - to end a contract and the parties are treated as though the contract never existed.

The availability of the different remedies is determined by the type of misrepresentation and the stage the contract has reached when the victim discovers the misrepresentation.